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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Capture Anything with Evernote

I like Evernote on my mobile devices for access to my notes, but the main place I use it is on my computer. It’s so easy to create and organize notes with the desktop version, and you can capture anything you want on the screen in seconds.

There are a variety of ways to capture to Evernote on your PC. I find myself using all of the methods, it just depends on what I want to capture.

To view a full-screen version of the demo videos, click on the link below each video.

Screen CaptureThis is probably my most-used clipping function. What makes Evernote stand out is that you can get a screen shot of the exact section of the screen that you want, instead of having to capture the whole thing and crop it later. The keystroke is exactly the same as a regular screen shot – Windows key and Print Screen button pressed at the same time (depending on your keyboard, it the key may be labeled as Prt Sc, and you may have to also use the function or shift key). If Evernote is running, the print screen keystroke will automatically activate the Evernote screen grabber tool. Just click and drag until the box is around what you want to capture and let go, and it’s done!

Windows-A ClipperThis is another one that I use all the time. It’s so simple – just highlight whatever you want to capture (pictures, text or both), hold down the Windows key and tap A, and it will clip the selection to Evernote. Bonus – using this capture on a webpage will automatically clip the URL, while using the screen capture function above will not.

Web ClipperThe web clipper is an add-on to your browser – you can download them here. Once you’ve added the extension, you can save what you want in your browser just by clicking the button. You can clip the article, a section you’ve highlighted, the entire page, or just the URL (it’ll capture the URL on every note automatically). You can also update the title, add tags or notes, and choose the notebook. It’s even smart enough to guess what notebook you would put it in based on other notes you’ve captured, and it’ll show you related notes after you’ve clipped it.

Right-Click Web ClipperIf you have the web extension installed, you can also use your right-click mouse button to capture something. I find myself using this one the most when I just want to save an image, but it works with anything you highlight in a browser. Just select what you want, right click and choose Evernote Web Clipper. This clipper also automatically saves the URL, but it doesn’t let you edit the title and tags immediately like the web clipper extension button.

Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.Evernote Tutorial - Right Click Clipper I like capturing everything to Evernote because it’s a single destination for all of my information, so I don’t waste time trying to find something I’ve saved. Having just one place for everything also helps keep things from slipping through the cracks.

Today I’ve only discussed ways to clip things on your screen, but there are lots of other ways you can capture information quickly in Evernote, such as taking pictures on your smartphone or forwarding links or emails to your Evernote email address. They make it really easy!

There’s still time to enter my giveaway, and your odds are great at this point!! I hope that my posts this week will help you realize how valuable a tool Evernote can be, and maybe you’ll want to try for that 3-month premium membership to see what the extra perks are all about a Rafflecopter giveaway